Indian Hills
by KateSomething
Summary: Indian Hills was her home, her shelter, and the bubble her father had always kept her in. But what if that bubble burst, showing her feelings she never imagined were possible?
1. Chapter 1

*****This is set before Season 1, I don't own any characters except my OC. Thanks for reading!*****

"Cadybug, I need you to get up," Cadence's father's voice roused her from her deep sleep. She groaned at the intrusion, cracking open her eyes to see only his head peeking through the door frame, "Come on and get some breakfast together. Some of the boys are coming over before we make the drive down to Fresno."

"Ugh daddy, can't Heather do it," She groaned again, rolling to her side and wishing he would just leave her alone so that she could go back to sleep.

"No baby, now get up before I do something I don't want to do."

One green eye popped wide open, the other still smushed into the pillow, this was her job, her life sentence. Not that she normally minded much, she loved taking care of people, but when it interfered with her sleep it was a whole different story. She rolled herself up, planting her bare feet on the cold wooden floor and stretched her body, trying to give herself the kick start she needed.

"How many guys are we talking?" She hollered out her now fully open door and petered her way over to her dresser, pulling out a black t-shirt and some cut off jeans.

"Just five or six." Her dad hollered back.

Cadence moved to the bathroom, cleaning herself up quickly and throwing her wavy blonde hair up into a pony tail. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, wide eyes that could use a little liner, but who cares, they were just bikers with an appetite.

"How long will you be in Fresno?" She said to her dad as she moved into the kitchen, opening the fridge and pulling out whatever ingredients she might need.

"Just under a week I think," Her dad responded.

Cadence turned and gave her dad a look, that was longer than they were ever usually gone for. But he wasn't paying her any attention, his eyes were focused intently on the newspaper in front of him.

"What're you reading?"

"There's some trouble over in Stockton," He answered, not lifting his head at all.

She paused, wondering what kind of trouble was in Stockton, hoping that her dad was not going to stop by to find out. "So why a week? What would take so long?"

Finally catching his attention, his eyes shifted over to where she was stirring batter in a big silver bowl. She watched him as he scratched his gray beard, a habit that usually meant he was hiding something.

"We're going to stop in Charming, catch up for a day or two on our way down."

"Oh," She nodded knowingly. Charming was home to the Sons of Anarchy, a motorcycle club similar to her father's, the Devil's Tribe. Her father and the founder of the Sons, John Teller used to be best friends, a very long time ago. So long, Cadence could hardly remember. But she did remember the story of how John saved her dad's life. She knew that even though John had passed, her father still held a fondness for his family and the club he had created.

"I need you and Heather to keep the clubhouse intact, make sure the girls are behaving and whatnot. There will be a few prospects around if you need anything."

"Ok," She answered, busying herself with finishing her preparations for breakfast. Glancing up towards the side of the fridge, a picture caught her eye, her mom and dad, in happier times. It all seemed so long ago now. She was eight when she found out her mother had stage four ovarian cancer. Two months later she had passed. No one was prepared for what that meant, her mom had not been ready to die, terrified to leave her daughters without their mother. Her dad who had always been the rock, was lost. Cadence was pretty sure he didn't smile for over a year after that, it was all so sudden, so tragic. But one day he woke up, and ever since then he had given them 200 percent. Sure, he was president of his motorcycle club, ran his business at a strip club, but he spent every other minute making sure they were taken care of. Cadence had been sheltered from his life, pushed to go to school and study hard, kept out of the craziness that his life sometimes brought. But he kept her separate, never allowing her to experience anything...nothing, her whole life until now. Now that she was 21, he was slowly allowing her to learn what the other side of his life was really about, giving her responsibilities at the clubhouse and little tasks like cooking breakfast for his guys, and she was determined to not let him down, hoping he would let her in his life even more. Because that's all she really craved.

"What's up bitch?" Cadence rolled her eyes at her sister's obnoxious greeting. "You shouldn't have, I really didn't need that many pancakes." Heather stuck her finger in the bowl before sucking the batter off of it.

"That's disgusting," Cadence responded, pulling the bowl closer to prevent her from doing it again. Her sister was an asshole, truly, and at 26 she was more immature than Cadence was at 11. Heather had been living the club life for much longer than Cadence. She had a history of fooling around with various bikers, giving her dad unwanted stress and causing him to only shelter Cadence more. She was the reason that Cadence wasn't even allowed to set foot into the clubhouse until she turned 21, she was the reason her dad threatened any member who even looked at her a minute too long.

"So what's going on Daddy, you guys are heading to Fresno?" Heather asked him.

"Yes, and I expect you to behave while I'm gone. I'm leaving some prospects to keep an eye on you."

"Are you leaving Sam?" Heather asked, a smirk on her lips.

"Now I'm not," He answered as he stood up, giving her a stern look before leaving the room.

"You are so bad," Cadence told her sister, she always had a way of messing with their dad. Her sister was pretty, with strawberry blonde hair and freckles on her face, she came off way more innocent than she actually was. She also had green eyes, but hers were more of a yellow green and narrower than Cadence's. Her boobs were little, but her hips were wide and she never seemed to have a problem getting the guys to notice her.

Cadence finished preparing the breakfast just as the guys started filtering in. "Jury!" They hollered, sitting down at the table and getting right at it. Setting some orange juice and glasses on the table, Cadence almost laughed at them, they had the breakfast finished off in less than ten minutes. With a quick thank you they were out the door, her father stopping to kiss her forehead before joining them on their trip.

Cadence sighed to herself, she hoped he was safe when he was away. Just the little glimpse of the life she was learning about was enough to make her worry for him.

* * *

The week had gone by slowly, Jury had called only a couple of times to let them know how he was doing. The last time he called, he told them to make sure the club house was ready, he was bringing some of the Sons back with him to check out how they were doing.

The pressure was on for her to make sure he was happy. Heather even did more than her fair share to help get ready, eager to see the familiar faces. Finally, everything was in place and the guys would be here any minute.

The doors to the clubhouse opened and in came Jury and Needles. Heather ran over to her father, hugging him hello. Cadence watched from her place behind the bar as man after man entered the clubhouse behind him. With 18 of their own members, the girls who were hanging around and the Sons, the place was bursting at the seams. She eyed her father talking to an older gray haired man who stood tall and full of confidence. Glancing down at his vest she could see he was the president.

Clay.

Another curly haired man joined in on their conversation, laughing and scanning the room, obviously trying to pick out what girl he wanted. Cadence sighed to herself and grabbed some beers from the fridge underneath the counter to have them close and ready, her dad never wanted the men to have to wait.

Glancing back over to where her dad was at, she saw a new man had entered. A really attractive man. His face was striking, his hair long and blond, his body tall and muscular. He must have sensed her staring, because he turned his head and looked straight at her, causing her to quickly turn away. She squatted down to pull more beers and hide the flush she could feel in her cheeks.

"Oh girl, Jax is here," Heather said under her breath as she walked behind Cadence.

"John's kid?" She asked, slinking back up to see who she was talking about.

"Yeah, the extremely hot one, oh come on, like you didn't notice?"

_Oh shit_, Cadence thought, she couldn't believe she had even remotely checked him out after hearing that. "Whatever you're thinking, dad will kill you."

"What dad doesn't know..." Heather said as she grabbed a cherry, taking little nibbles as she stared very openly. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Cadence finished getting the drinks prepped, ready to serve and make her father proud.

The men started walking over to the bar and Cadence suddenly felt a little nervous. Hopefully she wouldn't screw anything up. She popped the caps off and lined them up so they could grab them and go.

"I see you're fully stocked here Jury," Clay said as he put his arm around her father's shoulders.

"I aim to please," Jury answered.

"Looks like you got a lot of alcohol too," The curly hair man chimed in, causing the men to laugh.

"Tonight is your night men, everything is on the house. Only top grade quality here."

"How about that little one," Clay spoke up. Cadence felt a strange sensation suddenly and looked up, seeing all eyes were on her. Her eyes grew wide, he couldn't be serious, he was an old man for crying out loud.

"Yeah, she looks like one tight little..." Curly started.

"No," Jury interjected, loud and catching them off guard, his voice scared even her, "That's my daughter, she's off limits, and that one too," He pointed to where Heather was leaning over the counter, giving everyone a good view. Cadence turned away from them and faced the wall, getting some glasses and trying to appear as though she didn't hear a thing.

"Anyone touches my daughters and I'm sorry boys, but your head will be removed and mounted on a stake outside. As a message to everyone else what happens if you my girls."

"Well shit, my apologies Jury, I can't believe how...they grew up," Clay said. She could feel his eyes still scanning over her body and was honestly repulsed that he would even think of her like that.

"Yeah, I lost control of my Heather a bit, but Cady is still a virgin and God help the man who tries to ruin that."

Oh. My. God. Cadence could not believe that he had actually said that, she had never wanted to disappear so much in her entire life.

"Cady are you hearing this?" Her sister laughed, still leaning her chest on the bar for everyone to see. Sure she heard, everyone heard.

"I hate everyone right now."

"No way..." She could hear Curly and she knew exactly what he was thinking. What kind of freak was a virgin at 21 years old? One whose dad literally threatened the lives of any man who even said hello to her, that's who. She was lucky she had been able to make out with a couple of boys during high school, the one place where her dad didn't have someone patrolling her.

"Dad doesn't realize, but telling them that is only making them want you more. Lucky bitch." Her sister remarked without turning around.

"He's like retirement age Heather."

Finally Heather turned and walked over next to her, "That's not who I'm referring to jackass." She said into her ear, causing Cadence to blush again.

"That one's good for you Clay, she's very...shall we say, flexible." He heard his dad suggesting a woman for him. Cadence coughed out of shock, this is the part she really didn't want to see, or even hear for that matter.

The rest of the night consisted of her making drinks for the men, the men getting more and more drunk, often forgetting her dad's threats until he made his rounds again. Which he always did, about every ten minutes or so. She would sneak glances at Jax, admiring how good looking he really was, in between listening to her sister talk about wanting to "get on that" and bitching about some red head and a blonde hanging all over him.

There was no respect for women, this was a man's club for sure. But she didn't bitch about it, she was here to help her dad, knowing the gratitude he had for the men who joined him tonight. When it seemed they were all too drunk to even care if she was still there or not, she decided it was a good time to go home. Glancing around quick, she saw her father flash her a thumbs up. She smiled to herself, heading out to her truck, satisfied that her father was proud of her.

*****Review if you can!*****


	2. Chapter 2

*****Thanks for the reviews you guys! I hope I got this out quick enough for you!*****

Cadence groaned as she pressed the start button for her fourth attempt, only for nothing to happen once again. _What the hell?_ She thought as she opened the dishwasher door. Squatting down she played with all the parts to make sure they were able to move, she even checked the drain to see if something was clogged. Giving it another quick look, she closed the door again and pressed the start button.

"Come on asshole," She groaned.

"Need some help?" A voice asked her.

She turned to see Jax standing there watching her, his arms crossed over his chest and amusement in his eyes. "Um, it's just...I'm just, this thing is not starting." She told him, fumbling on her words, his very presence making her nervous for some reason.

"Let me look," He said as he crouched down beside her. His tan arm grazed lightly against hers as he went to work searching for what was wrong, his skin so warm it brought out some ridiculous responses in her. Cadence stood up hastily, embarrassed that something so small could have such an impact on her, because he obviously wasn't fazed by the touch in the least.

"Do you have a screw driver?" He asked, "Phillips head."

"Yeah sure, I'll go get it." Cadence headed to the cabinet in the far corner where she knew it would be.

"And maybe a wrench and some pliars."

She looked through the tool box, scrunching her eyebrows together while she tried to figure out which ones were the tools he needed. How embarrassed would she be if she came back with ones that were called something completely different. Grabbing a few different sized screw drivers and some other things she thought looked like what he would need she made her way back over to where he was now kneeling on the floor beside the open dishwasher.

His head deep in the machine, she watched as his hand gripped the outside frame, his muscles flexing to support himself. _Good grief girl_, she told herself, _get a grip_. Shifting on her feet, she must have got his attention. Backing out of the machine, she watched as his eyes were drawn to her bare legs, lingering there for only a second before he looked up at her face.

"Hopefully this is right," She told him, her cheeks probably bright red, passing him the handful of various tools she had grabbed.

"Should be," He answered, laying them out and setting back to work again.

"You have experience fixing dish washers?" She asked him, trying to make small talk.

"No, but I'm a mechanic, it can't be that difficult." He answered, his face obscured from her view, so she couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"Really?"

"You'd be surprised," He answered, _maybe he wasn't joking_.

She leaned up against the counter, deciding she was pretty bad at small talk. Sighing to herself, she couldn't believe this stupid thing was broke, she had been so close to leaving this place for the day. It had taken her most of the morning to clean up from the party the night before, there had been beer bottles, cigarettes and ashes, even vomit strewn about everywhere. It was so disgusting and honestly she wasn't sure if she would sign herself up for that job again. Most of the people had woken up and left or were lingering outside and she just couldn't wait to get out of there too.

Laughter filled the air as her sister made her way out from the rooms in the back, grabbing Cadence's full attention.

"You are so freakin funny," Heather said, turning around to face whoever was following behind her.

"Anything for you, doll," Curly answered, coming close to reach around and grab her ass.

Cadence coughed, gagged more like it at what she was seeing before her. Her sister leaned forward, kissing Curly's lips and humming, "You really need to come back soon," She cooed, turning to leave, but Curly couldn't resist himself and slapped her ass on her way out.

"Jesus," Cadence muttered to herself, the man wasn't that old, but he was old enough and for sure their dad would kill both of them for it. She turned away in disbelief, focusing her attention back towards what Jax was doing. But he was sitting up on his knees, watching the spectacle also and caught her eye as she looked down. Her eyes flickered away again, embarrassed by the display her sister just put on for them. He straightened up, placing the tools on the counter and shutting the door.

"Get ready to be impressed," He told her, wiping his hands on his shirt with a smirk. She smiled back, happy that he broke the tension that had been lingering in the room.

"If it works, I will be _so_ impressed," She answered.

He smirked again and pressed the button to turn it on. Amazingly, it worked.

"Wow, awesome, thank you so much," She told him, genuinely relieved, especially that it had taken him no time at all and now she could get the hell out of there.

"Any time darlin." He answered, still grinning at her, making her blush for the millionth time.

"What's going on in here?" Curly asked, his body leaning against the door frame.

"What's up Tig?" Jax answered.

"We're heading out." Tig responded, nodding his head toward Cadence in greeting.

"Alright," He answered and turned his attention back to her and smiled, "See you later."

She could feel her body go red again, why did she have to be so fair skinned, why did she have to so easily react. "Yeah, thanks again."

With one more smile he turned and walked to Tig, obviously throwing him some sort of look.

"What?" Tig responded, placing his hand over his heart in fake shock.

* * *

Throwing on her jeans and a black v-neck t-shirt, Cadence got ready for the day before her. She brushed her hair, pulling it into a ponytail and added some mascara to make her look more awake.

Grabbing her shoes and her bag, she made her way into the kitchen, catching her father on his way out the door.

"Hey Cadybug," He greeted, pulling her into his side, kissing the top of her head.

"Hey Dad," She answered, leaning into him, "Where you headed?"

"Just stoppin by the docs." He answered as he grabbed his kutte.

"Why? Something wrong?" His tone had been light, but she couldn't help feeling nervous any time he mentioned going to the doctors, after what they had gone through with her mother, it was all a cause for anxiety for her.

"No, just need my yearly check up," His tone still light, she accepted that answer. "Hey, you've been doing great at the clubhouse, especially the other night for SAMCRO, you really pulled it all together."

Smiling in return, she was glad that he was pleased with her. "Thanks, can't say I enjoyed the clean up though."

"Make some of the girls help you next time, that's what they're there for. They want to hang around and reap all the benefits. Put them to work, make them do the dirty shit."

Cringing, she knew what he meant by benefits, her mind jumping to Heather and Tig. "Like cleaning vomit."

"Oh boy," He answered, pulling her in again, "I have to head out, but I'm proud of you Cady. Grab your sister to help out today."

"Thanks Daddy."

As her father walked out of the house, she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the day relaxing, but she knew he needed her down at the clubhouse to get everything ready for another party in a few days. One of the prospects was getting patched in which meant the men would be going strong until really early in the morning, which meant she needed to make sure they had enough of everything to keep it going through the night.

She rummaged through a junk drawer, her eyes searching for a bottle of ibuprofen, figuring she should bring it just in case, she would most likely need it.

"Where are you going with your cleavage hanging all out and your butt all hugged?" _Yep, she would definitely need them for sure._

"Down to the clubhouse to get it ready for the patch party. You're going to help right?"

"Ah, your sights set on someone?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with my outfit Heather, maybe worry about keeping yourself more innocent."

"You're a bitch," Her sister responded, pouting her lower lip as she tried really hard to think of what to say, "Listen, I'm going out, don't tell Daddy ok?"

"What? With who? Seriously Heather, he wanted you to help me."

"I will, I promise, but something came up. Come on, don't you love me? Don't you want me to be happy?"

The roar of an engine interrupted her whine and Cadence sighed, happy her dad was back to witness this.

"He's here, I'll see you later Cady."

_What?_ Peeking out the window she saw Curly, or Tig, _what the hell_, parking in the driveway. Heather leaned in and the two shared a long kiss, making Cadence feel more ill by the minute. How in the hell did she manage to get away with so much shit?

* * *

Humming to herself, Cadence finished wiping down the tops of the bar, happy to finally be finishing up and ready to go home. Everything was fully stocked and clean, leaving one less thing for her dad to have to worry about. Turning around to the sink, she let the warm water run over the dirty rag, wringing the excess grime out before she threw it down into a bucket filled with the all other rags she would have to wash. The door creaked, alerting her that someone had entered and she turned with a smile, hoping it was her dad with news of his doctor's appointment.

"Well, hello," A dark haired, Hispanic man greeted her. His dirty smile unconvincing, giving her a strange uneasy feeling.

"Hi, can I help you?" She asked him, straightening up her posture.

"Is Jury around?" The man asked, his eyes scanning all around the room.

"No, he's out right now, I can tell him you came by though if you want to leave your name."

The man nodded towards the door and another man entered, blocking the doorway and causing Cadence to grow nervous. She mentally logged the location of the nearest gun, just in case of anything, and inched her way down the bar towards where it was hidden.

The sweaty man turned back towards Cadence, grinning wide with that unnerving smile and started to make his way over closer towards her. She halted her movements and ran her hand underneath the counter, searching for the cold hard security she was looking for.

"You know what beautiful?" He asked her as he reached the counter, his eyes scanning over her body, "How about we go have ourselves some fun in the back there."

"How about no," She answered him bluntly.

"No? That's how you talk to your boss?" The main man snapped back at her, laying a hand on the countertop, "I was asking nicely, you're supposed to say yes."

"Boss?"

"Yes mama, see this?" He asked, pointing to the Mayans patch he wore, "That means I'm your boss."

"The only boss that I have is Jury," She answered him, wrapping her hand around the barrel of the large shotgun.

"Jury? Jury works for us too." The man laughed with his friend.

"Jury's my father."

The men abruptly stopped laughing and the talkative one looked at her sternly, "Jury's your dad?"

"That's what I said."

The man leaned closer, practically climbing over the counter towards her, "Well then I do have a message for him. Tell him Alvarez needs him to pay up. He owes us a large amount of bookkeeping fees for the services we've been providing for his whore business."

"You mean the strip club? He has you doing bookkeeping?"

The men laughed again, as if sharing an inside joke, "No mama, I mean the hookers we've been helping him run. You sure you're not one of them? Because it's a shame if not. Maybe your father can relieve his debt in another way."

"I think it's time you boys leave," Cadence informed them, pulling the shotgun closer for easier access.

"Why don't you help Jury out, give us a deposit and we'll leave you alone." He leaned forward, having the audacity to grab her behind her neck and pull her forward towards his face.

Shocked but alert, she pulled away only making him more annoyed and he grabbed her arm hard to bring her back towards him. Panic set in, and her fingers closed tightly around the shotgun; she pulled it out from where it was hiding and pointed it at the man's face.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." He sputtered backing up, his hands up in the air in mock surrender. "Take it easy beautiful."

"You need to leave." Her eyes were locked on the man, trying her best to remain strong, but she was scared shitless. All she could do was silently pray that the men would take her seriously and not be able to see the coward she really was.

"You're not going to use that thing, why don't you put it down?"

"I told you nicely so don't make me use it." Staring them down, it felt like hours before a movement broke the tension filling the room.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Happy asked as he came through the clubhouse doors. Her glare on the man unwavering, but Happy's throaty voice was all the evidence she needed to know that it was him.

"This bitch is crazy."

Cadence's eyes flickered quickly from Happy back to her target, hoping it would help him see they were lying. From the corner of her eye she could see him back up toward the door, opening it and hollering out. But she didn't hear what he yelled, she didn't lose focus, she wouldn't them get the upper hand on her, she wanted these assholes out of there.

"Shit," She heard a familiar voice exclaim, stretching the small word into two long syllables. Knowing it belonged to Jax she suddenly felt confused why they were even here. Did they have something to do with the Mayans? She could see that someone else had entered with him, but refused to take her eyes off the shit head in front of her.

"Cadence, put the gun down darlin."

She was scared, frozen, and just wanted those men out of here...

"Hap," Jax looked to Happy, silently telling him to take care of the situation.

"I'm just going to take this out of your hands..." Happy tried to reason with her with his scratchy voice, she turned to look at him and when she did he quickly slipped the gun away from her and looked back to Jax.

"Cadence," The sick man muttered, smiling, her eyes snapped to his, she knew exactly why he said it.

But Jax was already behind him, pressing a knife against his throat, "Committing it to memory?"

"No man, not at all."

"So what did you want with her?" The man's neck indented by the weight of Jax's blade against it, his other arm pinning the man in place.

"Nothing ese, we were just looking for Jury."

"For what reason?"

"We were here to collect some money," The man groaned as the blade of Jax's knife sank into his neck, blood dripping down, escaping his body. Cadence, already feeling sick from the entire situation, almost lost it at the sight of his blood.

"How does he owe the Mayans?"

"Bookkeeping fees ese."

"Well I've got a message for Alvarez," Jax growled in his ear, scraping the jagged edge across his skin, "You tell him the Sons are handling that now, your services aren't needed anymore. If he has a problem he can take it up with us."

Jax let go and pushed the man away, flinging him towards the door.

"Get the fuck out of here!" Happy yelled at them. The men cast nasty looks as they left.

Jax walked over to where Cadence was leaning forward on the bar, "You ok?"

The adrenaline that had consumed her before was quickly leaving her body and she struggled to keep it together. "No, not really."

"Wanna tell me what happened?" His eyes were piercing, leaving no room for escape, but she knew if she didn't look away she would quickly lose her shit.

She turned her head, glancing at the wall for a distraction, "They were asking for Jury. Said he owes them money."

"Yeah I got that, how'd you end up whipping that thing out?" His head nodded to the shot gun now laying on the bar top, just in case she didn't remember what he was referring to.

Her eyes shot to his, regretting it as soon as they met, his eyes more intense than before. Quickly looking back away, she took a breath before she spoke, not because she needed to think about what to say, but because she just wanted to run into the other room and cry, not be interrogated right now, "They were saying my dad...they were saying something about him running whores..."

She could hear the shift in the men's bodies, surely they knew what she was trying to say.

"And?" Jax nudged her on to finish, not giving her the reprieve she was desperately needing.

"And they thought that I was one of them, said I could pay my dad's debt."

"Chibs?" Jax called, turning his head toward where Chibs stood by the door.

"Long gone brother."

She watched his jaw tighten and flex as he turned back to her. "Where's Jury?"

"He's at a doctor's appointment in town."

Straightening his body up tall, he seemed even more intimidating as he stared down at her, "You know where exactly?"

"Yeah."

Turning to speak to the guys, she really hoped he wasn't pissed because her. She _had_ to pull that gun, who knew what would have happened. "Let's go pay him a visit," He turned back to her, finally not making the eye contact she had dreaded before, "Come on darlin' you're coming too."

*****Review if you can!*****


	3. Chapter 3

*****Thanks for the reviews! You guys are so sweet and I'm glad you like it so far.*****

As the men headed out the doors Cadence moved from her place behind the bar, struggling to keep up, and as much as she did want to be alone right now, she definitely did not want to be alone _here_.

"Jax," She said, touching his arm as she made it out into the sunshine. She instantly regretted it, that same warm feeling enveloping her despite everything she had just gone through before, and quickly and shyly she pulled her hand away.

He turned to look at her, annoyance evident across his features. His expression made her nervous to speak up, she hoped it wasn't directed at her, but she needed to know if what they had said was true. "Is my dad really dealing with...you know...those kind of things?"

"That's something you have to talk to Jury about." He answered her as he handed her a helmet to put on. She pressed it onto her head, snapping the strap under her chin. She figured that was a yes. He would probably have had no problems telling her if it had been a no. Her heart sank thinking her dad could be involved in something like that, something so shady. Sure, she knew the women who hung around were more than capable of exploiting themselves that way, but they were usually there to entertain the club, with hopes of one day becoming more than just a catch-all for the men's sexual releases. But for her father to be involved? And for it to trickle down to her like that?

"Let's go little girl," Chibs called out to her, interrupting her thoughts. She saw them all waiting, sitting inpatiently on their bikes which were started up and ready to go. Chibs and Happy started off towards the road, leaving Jax idling there so she climbed on behind him.

"Where we going?" He asked her, turning his head only just enough to enable him to hear her answer.

"7th and Lakeside," She answered him as she wrapped her arms around him, all too familiar with the basics of riding on the back of a motorcycle. This time was different though, this time it was someone very different than her father sitting between her thighs. Someone who smelled amazing, a combination of cigarettes, wind and whatever deoderant he was wearing. Someone whose stomach was flexing underneath her hands, not soft and comfortable, but hard and firm, all of which was making it really hard for her to focus on everything that was going on.

Jax sped up and passed the other two men, slowing only for them to take their positions behind him as they assembled onto the highway. The sun's rays beat down directly on them, high in the sky at this time of day, causing her to squint as she held on for her life. Thankful she had thrown her hair up and it wasn't whipping in her face, blinding her, she clung tighter, not sure if this crazy driving was a normal occurrance for him, or from the fact that he seemed more than just a little pissed off. Her mind was racing, her body stiff, needing some sort of a release at the first opportunity that presented itself. She struggled to keep up her appearance of being in control. She had held a gun, a gun, in some man's face. A man who had grabbed her, while his partner had stood there, blocking the door and trapping her inside. That feeling of having no way out, that's what had really pushed her to pull it on him. She had seen Jax with a knife, how he pressed it into the man's neck, how the blood came dripping out, covering everything beneath it. And if that wasn't enough her dad was some kind of pimp? She knew that they were tough, she knew they dealt with not so great things, but never in a million years did she think her dad would ever be involved in something like that. And now here she was, on the back of Jax's bike, riding to face her father and find out.

Trying her best to hold herself together, she knew that she couldn't show emotion, not if she wanted her father to continue letting her work for him. She couldn't let him know how scared she was by what had happened.

As they pulled into the office building, Cadence immediately spotted her dad's red truck, relieved he was still inside and not able to see her riding with Jax. Jax parked his Dyna, letting her get off first. "Just stay here," He told her as he stood up and slipped off his gloves.

Nodding in response, she pulled off the helmet and hung it on one of his handlebars, watching as he said something to Happy and Chibs before walking towards the building. Not sure of what to do with herself, she sat down on the curb and waited, absentmindedly picking at her cuticles as her mind ran in circles. The men started to smoke and talk between each other, throwing the occasional glance in her direction until finally Jax and Jury came out.

"Cady," Her dad called and pointed towards his truck, "Go wait inside the truck."

Cadence stared up at her father, who now wore a pissed off expression identical to Jax's, and she quietly made her way over to open the truck door. She could hear them waiting to talk until she was safely behind the closed doors of the large vehicle.

It was all bullshit. None of this was her fault, why were they all acting pissed at her? And they couldn't talk about it in front of her? She was an adult for crying out loud. Why were they treating her like she was some small child, needing to be brought to her dad for him to deal with? It was all so ridiculous.

Irritated and no longer fighting the urge to cry, Cadence strained her ears to try and hear what they were discussing. It sounded like Jax and her dad were arguing over something, the other men were staying quiet. Finally, she heard the sound of their motorcycles starting back up and she peeked in the rear view mirror to watch as they sped out of the parking lot.

Jury opened the door and hopped in, a scowl still situated across his face. He started the truck up, pulling out towards the highway. The silence between them, thick and choking, as the desert road stretched out before them.

"Why wasn't Heather there?" Her dad finally asked her, keeping his attention on his driving.

"I don't know," She answered, not really telling a lie. Part of her was relieved she hadn't been there, but part of her wished she had.

"So you pulled the shot gun on them huh?"

A hard knot formed in her throat, there was no way this was going to end well, "I'm sorry Dad, they were just..."

"Don't be sorry," Jury told her before she could finish her sentence, glancing out of the corner of his eye at her, "I'm proud of you Cady. It's my fault, I never should have let you girls be down there alone."

Swallowing hard, she knew it was coming, the dreaded part where he says she can't go back again, just when he was starting to let her in to his life, his club that meant so much to him.

Staring ahead, he spoke as if to no one, "I'm lucky the boys showed up when they did."

"Mmm," Cadence remarked, knowing she was lucky too.

"I'm sorry baby, I won't leave you unprotected again."

Why should she even need to be protected? "So Daddy, you owe those men money?"

"Yeah well, we're taking care of that."

"And that business? You're really in that business? I thought it was only a strip club you were managing." She asked him as she stared him down, wanting the truth. She deserved it, after what she had gone through today, it was only fair she knew what she was walking into every time she went to the clubhouse.

"It brings in a lot of money Cady, I don't expect you to understand, but it's better than a lot of things we could be involved in."

"Seriously?" She asked him, _did he really believe that logic?_ "Is that supposed to make me feel better about it?"

"You need to understand, we're outlaws...there's a reason I kept you sheltered for so long. I didn't want you seeing everything that this life entailed. But it's my life, it's been my life for thirty years now. I try my best to keep us as close to clean as possible, while also being able to provide for our families."

"It doesn't seem like the Mayans are very clean." Inside she was shocked and disappointed. No matter what the reason, it was going to take awhile for her to swallow that truth.

Her father sighed, "Maybe you should do something else, get a real job, a good one. You have so much potential and hanging around the clubhouse is not safe for you..."

That's where she was afraid he would take it. That's where she was determined to not let it go. "No Dad. I want to be here. I want to help you. Let me do the bookkeeping, I'll take it over. You're probably getting screwed anyway."

Her dad turned and looked at her, his face serious as he thought it over. "I'll think about it."

* * *

It had been three days. Three long days of her father forbidding her anywhere near the clubhouse. Three days of listening to him scream at her sister for whatever bad choices she had made that day. Choices he could only imagine and Cadence had to admit, it was definitely better that he didn't know. But finally, after constant questioning, needless aggravation and more sheltering, her father gave in and agreed to let her help him.

Scooping up her bag and a small electric fan, Cadence slammed the truck door behind her and made her way towards the clubhouse entrance. The day was hot and the A/C had been acting up lately so she had opted for only a white tank top, cut offs and converse. She had no idea how long it would take her to straighten out his books and she didn't want to end up completely uncomfortable the entire time.

Tugging on the rusty black handle with her free hand, she slid the door open and wandered inside, pausing for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness of the room. She pulled the door closed behind her, its frame loudly banging into place, and turned, only to find Clay, Jax and her father sitting together at a table in the center of the room. And by the way they were all staring at her, she knew immediately that she had interrupted something important.

"Cadybug, why don't you go busy yourself in the back," Jury told her, his way of informing her that what they were discussing was not for her ears.

She caught his eye as she was passing him and could tell that he wasn't happy with her choice of attire. "Ok."

Plopping down her things on the desk of the office, she slipped on her big black glasses and settled in to get down to work. But as much as she tried, part of her wasn't able to pay attention, her thoughts kept wandering to what they could possibly be discussing in the next room. The Sons had rarely visited before, never since she started working at the clubhouse, and now here they were showing up again, she couldn't help but wonder what that meant.

The air conditioning seemed to be working ok, so she put the fan underneath the desk and pulled her chair closer to the desk to open the first book. She sighed as she tried to figure it all out, a jumbled mess of sloppy handwriting, dates that didn't line up and multiple other problems._ Why the hell didn't they use a computer for this?_ As the time passed by her butt started to get sore from sitting and her knees felt stiff. Going through the books was no easy task. Jury had to have at least 12 regulars with the occasional random girl working here and there, making it almost impossible to keep an accurate record of everyone. It was so bizarre that she was even trying to make sense out of it all.

Absentmindedly she chewed her pen cap, twisting and turning it as she studied the numbers on the paper below her. She had found so many errors, so many things that looked like the Mayans had tried to hide money from her father. The poor pen hung out of the side of her mouth as she found another thing wrong and stared at it increduously.

"Hey," The sound of his voice caused her to jump and the pen came flying out. She turned, reluctantly, to greet him back, knowing that her embarrassment was written all over her face.

And there he was, his body leaning through the door frame, his arms holding on to their sides for support, and he looked really good. The annoyance that had been on his face the last time she saw him was replaced with something almost...friendly?

"Hi." She answered, the eyes behind her glasses wide with surprise.

He laughed at her, actually laughed, and she quickly pulled the glasses off, wondering if that was why, she probably looked like such a nerd. "Sorry to sneak up on you."

"No, it's ok, I was just concentrating and didn't hear you."

"How's it going? Things coming along?"

"Well, actually I'm finding a lot of missing money, seems my dad has been getting screwed for quite some time now," She answered, her eyes back at the ledger on the desk in front of her.

"Like what, show me," He asked her, coming closely behind her, causing her heart to race and her palms to sweat in a less than attractive way. She turned her attention to the book, scanning it for an example, all the while trying to ignore the fact that he was leaning very close to her, his breath practically tickling the skin on her shoulder. His left arm was resting on the back of her chair, his right one leaning on the desk, and she was pretty sure he was able to get more than a decent view down the front of her tank top if he really wanted one.

She bit her lip, trying to remain professional with it all, "See, like here," She pointed to one of the ledger's lines, "See how the numbers don't add up? But they wrote it in to look legit? But if you add this and this, you don't get this."

"Oh, shit," He remarked, leaning even closer to examine the book himself, if that was at all humanly possible. She shifted uncomfortably, c_ould his body heat actually be radiating off of him like that?_ "Is it every transaction?"

Transaction? _Well that was one way to put it_. "No, it's just enough that you don't really notice unless you are trying to reconcile it. Which honestly, I don't know why my dad never did."

"He's still learning, but it looks like he's in good hands now darlin," He remarked, pulling back and giving her bare shoulder a small squeeze. Something that made her mind shift to things she really had no business thinking about.

She scrunched her mouth to the side and bit down on her lower lip, "Thanks."

"So are you ok? After what happened the other day?" He asked, stepping back a little, to her relief.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was more worried that my dad wouldn't let me be involved anymore than anything."

As he opened his mouth to respond, Jury appeared behind him. She watched as her dad's expression, completely predictable, completely readable, formed when he caught them talking. Wordlessly he stared at Jax as he handed Cadence a random woman's sweater.

"Dad?" She asked him, pulling his attention to her.

"Yeah, are you understanding the books ok?" He glanced over again to Jax with a 'what the hell are you still doing here' look. But Jax stayed put in the room.

"This isn't my sweater," She told him, trying to hand it back, "And yes, we have a lot to go over."

"Put it on anyway, you must be freezing."

Looking down at the black pull over sweater, she could only imagine where it had been. She really really didn't want to put it on, but as she glanced back at her dad and noticed he was on the verge of having an aneurysm or something, there really was no other option. As she slipped it on she heard Clay's voice, here to join in on the fun.

"Jury, we're heading out, come out front, I've got an offer for you."

"Alright...Cady I'll be right back."

"Ok," she answered, watching the men leave.

Jax turned to her, "See ya later darlin, keep up the good work." He said, backing up towards the door. She gave him a small side smile which he answered with a wink, causing her stomach to flip inside of her.

God she was so screwed.

*****Hope you liked it!*****


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